Itachi couldn't get up, this situation was extremely dangerous.
It was worrying when the best option was that he was trapped in a Genjutsu on the level of his Tsukuyomi, but the alternative...
Was not something he wanted to consider.
Kisame did not seem to be dealing with the situation better, Itachi could see the veins on his neck straining as the man attempted to lift himself out of his chair.
Ayumu was casually eating some grapes as he watched them both fail to escape.
"Wow, you're almost there, Kisame, just a bit more." Ayumu encouraged brightly. "A little bit higher and you'll be able to stand up."
That seemed to make Kisame's mood even worse, his attempts redoubled as the burned man continued to eat.
At some point, Samehada started vibrating slightly, reacting to its wielder's emotions.
"Oh, how rude of me, I forgot about you, Samehada." Ayumu said lightly. "Here."
Another snap of the fingers and Samehada vanished from Kisame's hand, before reappearing on a new chair, missing its bandages and clearly confused.
And with yet another snap, a plate of... Chakra? Appeared in front of the sword.
The Sharingan could see it, it was just Chakra sitting on a plate, swirling slowly, Samehada bent down slightly, as if smelling the offering.
"If it isn't to your taste, just let me know, I have other flavors."
Samehada nodded.
What.
Itachi glanced at Kisame, seeing the same bafflement that Itachi was feeling, clearly both of them thought that Samehada was a mind equal to a beast, but it seems like they were mistaken.
This was... very surreal.
"Do you mind cutting the crap?" Kisame finally asked Ayumu directly. "What the hell is your problem?!"
Ayumu finished off another grape before looking at Kisame.
"Well, as I said, I wanted to annoy Itachi until he went to talk to Sasuke." He said with a shrug. "That kid needs to find closure, one way or another, and Itachi was never going to do it without prompting."
He pointed with a bundle of grapes at Kisame.
"And you, well, I have realized I quite dislike people being forced into bad situations due to manipulation." Ayumu explained, his eyes stayed locked onto Kisame's yellow ones.
The blue-skinned man tensed up, but this was not due to anger, but rather discomfort.
"What are you talking about?" Kisame asked, trying to play it cool.
"The world of truth is a lie, it will never exist, 'Madara' doesn't know the real purpose behind gathering the Tailed Beasts and creating the Infinite Tsukuyomi."
Itachi paused at that, what? Ayumu just said a lot of stuff that requires explanation, so many questions...
What was the 'World of Truth'? What was the Infinite Tsukuyomi? If Madara didn't know the true reason for gathering the Tailed Beasts, then who did?
And why did Ayumu sound sarcastic when he said Madara's name?
"Alright, you have my attention." Kisame spoke up seriously. "You shouldn't know most of this shit."
"Well, to start with, Madara isn't actually Madara, it's some guy called Obito Uchiha."
Who the fuck was Obito Uchiha?
Kisame also seemed confused, so Itachi didn't feel too bad for not knowing who this person is.
"I have no idea who that is." Kisame admitted easily enough.
Itachi looked at the food in front of him, some fried pork dumplings, he also spotted the bottle of sake.
Normally, he didn't drink due to his sickness, but it was becoming ever more tempting.
Actually.
Itachi took a deep breath, focusing on his lungs, yes... he didn't feel like the usual pain and discomfort that came with any deeper breaths.
Another mystery, but one he would put aside for now.
While Kisame was looking through his memories, trying to see if he knew who Obito was, Ayumu turned his focus onto him.
"By the way, Sasuke made this food, I stole it." Ayumu said cheerfully. "It's very good, you should try it."
He looked at the food again, it looked very well cooked, and smelled quite nice.
Is this what Sasuke was doing at the restaurant? He was not expecting him to be a cook.
He hesitantly reached out and picked up one of the dumplings, examining it, before taking a small bite.
It tasted... like the dumplings his mother used to make.
***
1 HOUR
"And so, if Obito succeeds, he will just be killing all the people after giving them some nice dreams." Ayumu continued. "If you still want that world of truth, Kisame, Itachi can just use his Tsukuyomi on you, it will even kill you after it finishes, almost exactly the same."
Itachi ignored the fact that Ayumu knew that he could use the Tsukuyomi to give someone a lifelong illusion, he had only used his Eye to that extent once, so realistically, Ayumu had no way of knowing.
Which is something he had been thinking to himself repeatedly over the last hour.
There were several points where Ayumu displayed knowledge he should have no access too, from minor things like Itachi's illness or his desire for peace, to far more severe things like Akatsuki's true goals and Madara's identity.
At some point, Kisame had picked up a Sake bottle and downed it in one go, when Ayumu explained that the whole reason Obito was doing this was because he missed his childhood crush.
"You know, I never really got why you accepted Obito's offer in the first place." Ayumu said suddenly. "If you wish for truth, why help a man create a world where everyone is living a lie?"
Kisame scowled at Ayumu before taking another deep swing out of his sake bottle.
"Does it matter?" Kisame asked bitterly. "If you're telling the truth, then it was all worthless bullshit anyway."
"I suppose it doesn't." Ayumu conceded easily enough. "Well, any other questions?"
The burned man glanced between them both.
But Itachi had no intentions to prolong this experience, he did not like being in such a vulnerable position, despite how casual the conversation was.
And it seems Kisame felt the same way, as he slammed down his current bottle of alcohol and looked at Ayumu.
"Yeah, can we leave now?" The shark-like man asked bluntly.
"Sure, but Itachi will be talking to Sasuke, if I see you leaving, I'll just teleport you in front of him." Ayumu said firmly.
Itachi paused at that.
"Why are you so interested in me and Sasuke's issues?" He asked finally, he had little idea of what he was going to say to Sasuke, it was something he had thought about many times before, but nothing ever satisfied him.
His latest plan was to simply continue the charade, allow Sasuke to kill him and fade into history as a hated monster, letting Sasuke live free from his own sins, and the sins of their clan.
But Ayumu didn't give him a satisfying answer.
"I already said I dislike choices made due to misunderstandings, so you and Sasuke will talk, he will ask you why you did what you did, and you will explain your actions." Ayumu laid out matter-of-factly. "Sasuke deserves better than you trying to manipulate his life and choices, doesn't he?"
Leaving no chance for a response, Ayumu snapped his fingers, and just like that, they were back where they had been before.
Sitting on top of a hill overlooking the distant battlefield.
Ayumu gone like he was never there.
Samehada was back on Kisame's back, Itachi immediately felt the familiar sting in his chest, leaving both unchanged physically, but mentally...
Well, both of them had a lot to think about.
***
I kept an eye on both Akatsuki members, if I saw any sign that Itachi wasn't going to go speak with Sasuke, then I would drag him there by the balls.
Metaphorically speaking.
I did keep an occasional eye on Sasuke, and I have noticed that he gets very depressed whenever he is left alone with his thoughts, usually it is when he is doing chores at night.
So this whole thing isn't sustainable, he was happy at the restaurant, but his history was a massive chain around his neck, dragging him back into a cycle of anger and sadness at the thought that he would have to leave someday.
So let's cut through the bullshit, Itachi will be talking to Sasuke, and either Sasuke will fully dedicate himself to killing Itachi and Danzo, or he will accept Itachi's reasoning, and they can figure out where to go from there.
But that was for later, the Kiri Invasion was coming to an end, the battle had not shifted in Kiri's favor while I was talking to the two Akatsuki members, so now we get to the cleanup, there were still around 300 Shinobi alive, and I had promised none of them would live.
So let's start guiding Yatagarasu more directly, he was doing a good job, but now it was time to turn this from a defensive war and turn it into an execution.